Stuart Will Deliver Old-School Country Music

This appeared on Macon.com - November 18, 2011

Ghost Train marks Marty Stuarts return to traditional country music, and hes bringing that sound to the Cox Capitol Theatre on Saturday.

Stuart got his first guitar when he was just 2 years old, a Mickey Mouse wind-up version, then progressed to a better one around age 7 or 8, he said, adding that he was on the road at age 12. Born in Mississippi, Stuart was influenced by gospel music right from the start.

Raised in the South, I had the same influences as a lot of people. We went to church on Sunday and it was a steady presence in our home, he said.

Stuart played with Lester Flatt for 13 years before Flatt died. Stuart met Johnny Cash during those years, and when he later went with a buddy to deliver a guitar to Cash, the two hit it off and Cash called and asked Stuart to play with him.

Working with Lester Flatt gave me a foundational education in the life of a musician, and then working with Johnny Cash was like a master class finishing course, he said.

Flatt and Cash taught Stuart that making music was not just about him, but that his band, the Fabulous Superlatives, was equally important.

They both had enough star power that they had no problem featuring their bands. They were statesman and made everybody a star, Stuart said. I like to throw it to the band -- Paul Martin, Harry Stinson and Kenny Vaughan -- and I think it makes for a better night like that. Id get really bored just playing one song after another.

The songs are mostly written by Stuart, a custom he said he has observed in country musicians going back to Hank Williams. Hank Williams put it best when he said, I dont write the songs; God sends them down and I just hold onto the pen. The hardest part is staying out of the way.  Its the influence of the musicians from that era of Williams, Flatt, Cash and many others that Stuart hopes country music will turn back to.

It was designed to evolve from day one. After the Big Bang of country music in Tennessee in 1927, it started changing about five years later. Looking back, it doesnt sound like what we call country music today, Stuart said. I had a few pennies in the bank, the girl I love and a worn-out Telecaster, and I wanted to go back to doing what I love with a return to country music.

Its a hardcore, unapologetic return to country music. The most outlaw thing you can do in Nashville right now is play country music, Stuart said. But its timeless. Trends come and go, but it remains a steady force; it just seemed like time for a new chapter.